We didn't invent the weather (God did that)....just the weather blog...

Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Recent Heavy Snow Put a Dent in the Central Plains Drought...

Although its still a long way from over, a significant reduction in drought severity has taken place recently as a result of heavy snow across portions of the central and southern Plains states - particularly across Oklahoma and central & eastern Kansas.As an example, take a look at this dramatic comparison picture from long time blog reader Dave Schweitzer's (you can follow him at @tornado_dave on twitter) pond near Calumet, OK:

Indeed, much needed moisture has fallen over 100% of the Sooner State for the last 30 days, with areas in red receiving over 5 inches of liquid equivalent precipitation:

The same is true, though to a lesser magnitude, for a good part of the central Plains. Note the pronounced dry exception, though, over a large part of the Midwest:

...and it remains very dry over a significant part of Texas:

It remains to be seen just how the major "storm track" (i.e., jet stream pattern) will evolve as we head into the spring. We certainly hope that the recent improvement is a sign of a longer term trend and over a much larger area. Stay tuned, as we should begin to see hints of the longer term trends during the month of March!

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